Project No.: R1016-20
Project Title: Rapid Detection and Synergetic Disinfection of Bioaerosols Using Far UVC and Negative Air Ions: Mechanistic and Field Studies
Project Coordinator: Prof LAI Chi Keung, Alvin (CityU)
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in over 109 million cases and 2.4 million deaths globally since December 2019. Alarmingly, the pandemic has showed no sign of easing. Besides, it is almost certain that COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic.
To counter the COVID-19 crisis and possible new pandemics, especially the potential airborne transmission of the virus, novel solutions are urgently warranted. In this study, we propose to develop innovative and effective methods to detect, characterize and disinfect bioaerosols in indoor environments.
Current methods to sample bioaerosols cannot effectively collect microorganisms of all sizes, especially viruses that are submicron in diameter. Furthermore, the culturing approaches to characterize the captured bioaerosols are known to create biases. In order to address these shortcomings, we propose to couple advanced aerosol technology with state-of-the-art molecular biology techniques to enable fast and accurate detection of targeted microorganisms including the SARS-CoV-2 virus and characterization of the overall bioaerosol composition. The developed methods will be deployed to profile the bioaerosol composition in different indoor settings in Hong Kong.
Bioaerosols that are released in indoor air are subjected to photochemical aging and the extent of aging can influence disinfection efficacy. The transformation of the bioaerosols will be investigated by performing a series of laboratory experiments that mimic typical indoor conditions. A mechanistic understanding of the bioaerosol aging process will shed light on the fate of microorganisms once they are airborne.
Recently Far UVC (222 nm) is found to be more effective in disinfection microorganisms and most importantly more safe than the conventional UVC (254 nm). Negative air ions can also disinfection microorganisms. Synergetic disinfection effects, which might enhance disinfection by combining these two technologies, is rarely studied in the literature. In this study, we propose to couple Far UVC (222 nm) and negative air ions to harness the synergistic effects between the two to achieve greater than 99.9% removal of bacteria and viruses. The disinfection efficacy of model bacteria and viruses will be determined, and the disinfection mechanisms will be elucidated by biochemical tests and high-resolution microscopy techniques. After the novel disinfection process is developed in the laboratory, field testing will be conducted in diverse buildings to verify its effectiveness under real-life conditions.
Besides academia, the project also received strong support from the building industry such as the Hong Kong Green Building Council, Sino Group and Arup as well as government support from the Electrical Mechanical Services Department. Overall, this study addresses an urgent need in Hong Kong and globally to rapidly detect and eliminate pathogens in indoor air including the SARS-CoV-2 virus as a preventive measure to safeguard occupants’ health. The outcomes from this study will not only immediately contribute to the fight against COVID-19 but also significantly raise our preparedness for future pandemics.
Project No.: R2002-20
Project Title: Exploring the role of big data analytics in promoting smart low-carbon cities: A human-centered, community-based, and deep engagement approach in Hong Kong
Project Coordinator: Dr Daphne Ngar-yin MAH (HKBU)
Abstract
This project will combine expertise in data science, climatology, energy-saving and solar technologies, energy governance and policy, and participatory art in order to address a complex problem. It will conduct study of four communities in Hong Kong, involving a total of 600 households. We aim to develop and test a model for enabling behavioral change among residential electricity consumers which is underpinned by both data science and participatory engagement. We will test behavioral interventions by means of our mobile household energy application (app) that will deliver energy advice, in combination with deep engagement community activities for achieving behavioral change in terms of energy saving and solar power uptake in urban households. The engagement “activity package” includes regular community activities, partnership (including student-led community projects on citizen science projects, and interactive energy maps), and benchmarking index. This is an interdisciplinary research project involving 17 co-investigators/ collaborators in 9 research institutions in Hong Kong and overseas research institutions, and 9 collaborating organizations from the school, business and societal sectors.
Project No.: R4003-20
Project Title: Market Microstructure of Hong Kong Securities Market – Strengthening Market Quality and Price Stability
Project Coordinator: Prof CHAN Kalok (CUHK)
Abstract
Market microstructure is the study of the structure of exchanges and trading venues, and how the different trading mechanism affects the price discovery process, speed of execution, market liquidity, price volatility, trading behavior and transaction costs. Market microstructure is one of the fastest growing fields of financial research, due to fast-changing market landscapes. The exchanges and trading venues today are far more complex and sophisticated, due to the keen competition among global exchanges, increased demand from institutional investors, rise of innovative trading techniques, and development of advanced technology that drives rapid growth of electronic trading and algorithm trading.
Hong Kong’s stock market has experienced a remarkable growth in the last decade. In terms of the stock market capitalization, it was the sixth largest in the world and the third largest in Asia in 2019. In terms of the IPO proceeds, it was ranked the top in the world in 2019, with a total of HKD 308 billion, although most of the IPOs are mainland companies. With the introduction of Stock Connect connecting the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) to the stock exchanges in Shanghai and Shenzhen, Hong Kong’s stock market has established itself as the gateway for international investors to invest into Mainland stock markets and for Chinese investors to invest outside Mainland China. As recognized in the HKEX Strategic Plan 2019-21, there has been a change of investor mix in global markets and intensified industry competition to attract trading volumes. The Strategic Plan outlines that one of the important initiatives for the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is to “improve our market microstructure to make our markets more globally competitive, cost effective and accessible, in order to enhance overall market liquidity”.
We propose to study four important issues related to enhancing liquidity provision and curbing volatility in the Hong Kong’s stock market:
- Effect of Closing Auction Session (CAS) on the intraday liquidity patterns and curbing volatility around the market close;
- Effectiveness of Volatility Control Mechanism (VCM) on the liquidity provision during large price movements;
- Impact of High Frequency Trading (HFT) on the volatility and liquidity of the market;
- Role of Hong Kong-Mainland Stock Connect Program on boosting stock liquidity.
These topics are important for the development of the Hong Kong stock market that has received the attention of policy makers and market participants. The issues proposed in this RIF project are very relevant for current discussion, and findings of our studies will have important policy implications. Although there are some similar studies on other markets, our project will generate novel findings as there are special features in the Hong Kong stock market.
Project No.: R4018-20
Project Title: Promoting Physical Activity Among Primary School Children and Their Families in Hong Kong: A Community-based Healthy Lifestyle Program ("F.I.T. Family")
Project Coordinator: Prof WONG Heung-Sang Stephen (CUHK)
Abstract
More than 1.4 billion adults globally do not meet the recommendations for physical activity (PA) for health and are, subsequently, at risk of developing non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN) have set targets to decrease physical inactivity, in order to reduce overall premature mortality from NCDs by 2030. The health benefits of regular PA for children and adolescents are extensive and include reduced cardiovascular disease risk, improved fitness as well as enhanced cognitive functioning and mental health. Alarmingly, recent global data reported by 1.6 million children and adolescents aged 11-17 years revealed that 85% of girls and 78% of boys were insufficiently physically active. In line with the WHO and the UN, the Food and Health Bureau and the Department of Health of Hong Kong SAR government have formulated a strategy and action plan (SAP) for the prevention and control of NCDs in Hong Kong. Within the scope of this SAP is a focus on a 10% reduction in physical inactivity among adolescents by 2025. This target may, however, be more challenging at present, given the on-going coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic that has resulted in a global decline in PA. Thus, there is an urgent need for safe and innovative PA interventions that are effective in increasing PA among children and youth.
The Active Healthy Kids Hong Kong was first established in 2015 to synthesize evidence-based PA-related indicators for children and youth in Hong Kong. It is a part of the global knowledge transfer effort by the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance (AHKGA) global matrix initiative. Together with the AHKGA, our team has conducted comprehensive and systematic assessment of PA of children and youth in Hong Kong, with reference to internationally relevant PA indicators for children and youth. Our published findings “The 2016 and 2018 Active Healthy Kids Hong Kong Report Cards on Physical Activity for Children and Youth” have been widely reported by the media and have gained considerable attention among the public. Recent results of the 2018 Report Card have demonstrated that Hong Kong children and youth have low PA levels, low physical fitness levels and high sedentary behaviours, with almost a quarter being overweight or obese. Of particular concern is our finding that family support for PA for children and youth is poor in Hong Kong. Parental factors and the home environment have been shown to play important roles in promoting PA among children and youth. Given that COVID-19 has resulted in children and adolescents staying at home from school and parents working from home, the implementation of a home-based family PA intervention is timely and necessary to increase PA and to counteract the negative physical and mental health outcomes associated with a more sedentary lifestyle.
Building on the work of our previous Report Cards, process evaluation and the impact of the 2018 Hong Kong Report Card will be conducted in phase 1 of the proposed project. Specifically, online surveys will be conducted by the multidisciplinary research work group to inform future PA-related projects, in addition to formulating methods for engaging and motivating Hong Kong children and youth to perform more PA. Phase 2 of the proposed project aims to examine the effect of a 4-month home-based family lifestyle program ("F.I.T. Family") on physical fitness, obesity and family support for PA (indicators with poor grades in 2018 Hong Kong Report Card) in primary school children and their families in local Hong Kong communities. The findings of the proposed project may serve as an evidence-based family-based PA program for the development and provision of PA teaching guidelines for both parents and educators to improve the health of children and youth during COVID-19 and in the medium and long term.
Project No.: R5028-20
Project Title: Wearable closed-loop neural control ‘Remind-to-move’ treatment for hemiparetic upper extremity in people with hemiplegia after stroke
Project Coordinator: Prof FONG Nai-kuen Kenneth (PolyU)
Abstract
Stroke is one of the three most common causes of hospital admissions in Hong Kong and a significant problem in other parts of the world, and stroke survivors occupy the highest number of hospital days and of residual disabilities. Among the stroke survivors, 70% experience permanent hemiparetic arm.
Originating from PolyU, ‘Remind-to-move’ (RTM) was the first treatment of its kind in the world to promote the use of a hemiparetic arm following the arm’s non-use as a result of hemiplegia in adult stroke patients. Underpinned by attention theory, the first RTM protocol, which used a wearable sensory cueing device, was developed to promote a stroke patient’s awareness of the affected side of the body after hemiplegia in order to reduce unilateral neglect and trace the actions associated with that awareness. The RTM treatment is a completely new concept in rehabilitation, and it has already made an impact on the wider community. In connection with this treatment, an easy-to-use and low-cost wearable wristwatch device – sensory cueing wristwatch, with two patents filed, was subsequently developed, and is now widely used in rehabilitation for unilateral inattention and upper limb motor priming for patients with hemiplegia in public hospitals in Hong Kong.
Recently, closed-loop neuroscience has received increasing attention because of recent technological advances that enable complex feedback loops to be implemented with a quick response from recording and decoding hardware. The original RTM treatment was based on a simple open-loop ‘stimulus-response’ mechanism which might not be able to meet the individual needs of patients in their everyday lives. In this project, we propose to develop the next generation RTM, which will combine recording and stimulating interfaces in a closed-loop wearable device to treat the hemiparetic arm after stroke based on a machine learning algorithm developed through capturing the actual activities of the affected arm with reference to those of the non-affected arm.
This research combines knowledge in kinematics, neuroscience, computer technology, and electronic engineering and cover the rehabilitation needs of a large ageing population, the use of machine learning, and the manufacturing of assistive smart products locally, are in line with the government of delivering the potential research impact for the wider community in Hong Kong and other regions. Apart from the fact that thousands of stroke patients who will benefit from the invention in the short and medium terms, the science behind this project will lead to further research and breakthrough in the field for another decade.
Project No.: R6005-20
Project Title: Development of safe and energy-dense all-solid-state lithium batteries
Project Coordinator: Prof ZHAO Tianzhou (HKUST)
Abstract
The overall goal of this project is to develop all-solid-state lithium batteries that are safe and energy-dense to meet the soaring demand of modern devices, such as electronic devices, drones, robots, electric vehicles and even grid-scale energy storage. Currently, two challenges hinder the commercialization of the battery: large internal resistance and low active material utilization. To remove these two barriers, we will conduct systematic studies of all the key components, including the solid-state electrolyte, the electrodes, and the electrolyte/electrode interfaces. Through these studies, we will develop a thorough understanding of internal resistance and active material utilization issues in the battery. Then we will develop effective strategies to address the critical challenges facing the battery and bring this technology from research laboratory to the factory floor. We anticipate that the successful development of advanced battery will unleash the latent potential of modern devices to accomplish their jobs, bridging the huge gap between the current status of the battery technology and market needs.
Project No.: R6021-20
Project Title: Enabling Secure and Efficient Cross-Silo Federated Learning at Scale
Project Coordinator: Prof LI Bo (HKUST)
Abstract
Rapid advancements of machine learning (ML) technologies are being increasingly deployed to address large-scale, real-world problems. The success of these solutions relies critically on building advanced ML models driven by massive volumes of data collected from diverse sources. However, in most areas of our society, data are dispersed and locked in different organizations, and often no single organization has sufficient high-quality data for use by advanced ML. Simply pooling data from individual organizations into one central database is unviable in practice due to growing concerns for data privacy and confidentiality, backed by government regulations.
Cross-silo federated learning (FL) opens new pathways to break “data silos” between organizations. It allows multiple organizations (clients) to form a data federation, in which they collaboratively train a global ML model coordinated by a central server, without exchanging the private training data. While cross-silo FL promises to address fundamental problems of data privacy, ownership, and security in the context of advanced collaborative learning, realizing these promises, however, raises daunting challenges in system design, security and privacy, as well as requiring effective incentive mechanisms, all of which are indispensable in practical settings.
In this project, our goal is to design, build, and evaluate a full-stack solution for secure and efficient cross-silo federated learning at scale. In particular, we will develop a new FL platform that spans several geo-distributed data centers across many organization domains, a suite of programming abstractions and engineering optimizations to support efficient training on massive volumes of data using diverse ML frameworks, new mechanisms to preserve data privacy and defend against adversarial attacks from both within and beyond the federation, and effective mechanisms to provide strong incentives for organizations to participate in federated learning. We will collaborate with the leading companies in the AI field and evaluate the performance and effectiveness of our solution in real application scenarios relating to their core business. This project is expected to simplify greatly the development and deployment of practical federated learning applications across multiple organization domains at scale.
Project No.: R7012-20
Project Title: Lead leaching into potable water: metallurgical impact due to thermo-mechanical processing of copper-alloy pipework components
Project Coordinator: Professor Alfonso Hing Wan NGAN (HKU)
Abstract
The problem of lead leaching in potable water has been a serious concern in different jurisdictions. Although copper-alloy components used in potable water pipework must be of the nominally "lead-free" grade in most jurisdictions including Hong Kong, incidents of excessive lead leaching, such as that occurred in Kai Ching Estate in 2015, are still reported from time to time.
Conventionally, people use electrochemistry to explain the phenomenon of lead leaching from copper alloy components. However, our recent research shows that this approach of explanation is inadequate. Instead, thermal and mechanical treatments in common engineering practice can significantly increase the lead content on copper alloy surfaces, thus causing leaching to above the acceptable threshold.
This project aims at finding a science-based solution to lead leaching. First and foremost, the susceptibility of the large variety of approved plumbing products typically available in the Hong Kong market to the thermo-mechanically induced lead leaching will be studied by high-throughput experimentation. The mechanisms of lead segregation and leaching will also be investigated by microscopic techniques. Based on the gathered database, data analytics methods will be used to devise codes of practice and guidelines for proper processing of plumbing components during installation to avoid lead leaching, and the provision of sufficient immersion of newly installed components to ensure complete leach out of lead before usage.
The impact of this project will include a scientific understanding of the metallurgical mechanism of lead leaching from plumbing alloys, a new sets of engineering guidelines and standards for plumbing installation works, and, in the longer run, revision in legislation, to solve the lead leaching problem.
Project No.: R7021-20
Project Title: Pangolins and pathogens: Advancing One Health through the tracking and disruption of illegal wildlife trade
Project Coordinator: Dr Timothy Carlton BONEBRAKE (HKU)
Abstract
While humans have always interacted with wildlife, globalization has intensified these interactions increasing the frequency and number of species with which we are in contact. Many of the major disease outbreaks in recent human history can be traced back to these interactions – from the Spanish Influenza in the early 1900s and more recently SARS. While the origin of the current pandemic, COVID-19, is still not known, most evidence points to a zoonotic origin, most likely originating in bats and passing to humans via an intermediate host. Pangolins have been identified as one potential candidate host (based on the discovery of SARS-CoV-2-related coronaviruses in pangolins seized in China), although to date there is insufficient evidence to confirm that this group of species has played a role in the global outbreak. Regardless, the emerging data suggest that pathogens within pangolins require further study to both understand the current pandemic and explore the possibility of future zoonotic transmission.
This research is also desperately needed for the conservation of pangolins, currently the most trafficked mammal on the planet. Better knowledge of the wildlife trade of pangolins will support conservation efforts for these highly threatened species. We aim to advance an interdisciplinary One Health approach to map patterns of trade in pangolins and to identify the viral load of animals seized in trade. The key to this research is the recognition that the health of animal species and individuals is intricately linked to human health and that wildlife trade has the potential to impact both. Working with samples seized in wildlife trade, we will use genetic techniques to identify the geographic origin of these samples. We will also use stable isotope analysis to explore the health status of pangolin individuals prior to capture and death. Finally, we will screen seized animals for viruses in order to determine the suite of pathogens potentially being introduced through illegal wildlife trade and to characterize the prevalence of these viruses in trafficked animals. The novel approach we are implementing here unites all of these lines of investigation to link conservation and public health and better manage the environmental consequences of wildlife trade.
The members of our inter-disciplinary team have developed over the years a network of connections with NGOs, governmental agencies, and conservation scientists from throughout the regions where pangolins are distributed. The key pathway to impact in this study will be to leverage these networks to share the findings from our study and to ensure that the information produced has the most opportunity to impact public health and conservation policy regionally and globally. Our focus on pangolins and pathogens arises from the urgent questions resulting from the emergence of SARS-CoV-2. However, the implications of our research have broader relevance to a diversity of species in the wildlife trade and consequences for One Health.
Project No.: R7022-20
Project Title: Development and applications of a driver-dependent tumor organoid biobank for translational liver cancer research
Project Coordinator: Dr Stephanie Kwai Yee MA (HKU)
Abstract
Liver cancer (Hepatocellular Carcinoma, HCC) is a particularly prevalent and deadly disease in Hong Kong and China. Despite definite improvements in the outcome of patients with HCC, the overall prognosis of this cancer is still unsatisfactory. To date, treatment for HCC has still followed a traditional “one-size-for-all” strategy where stratification of patients is only based on disease stage; and therapy are often inefficient or ineffective for many individuals. HCC is a biologically complex and highly heterogenous disease. Distinguishing drivers from passenger mutations is of crucial importance. In an era of precision medicine, monitoring clinically relevant driver-dependent genetic alterations is important for stratifying patients for targeted therapies. By combining hydrodynamic tail vein delivery of oncogenic plasmids for HCC induction in mouse models and 3D organoid culture, the aim of this project is to establish and characterize a bio-bank of diverse driver-dependent HCC and adjacent non-tumor liver mouse organoids that is representative of the common mutations and copy number alterations documented in HCC. The established platform can then be applied for various basic and applied research uses; and will provide an important reference point and potentially an invaluable tool to unravel disease mechanisms, drug screening and design of novel, personalized treatment strategies for HCC.
Project No.: R7024-20
Project Title: Combating physical inactivity pandemic by promoting physical fitness education and physical activity-embedded curriculum in kindergartens
Project Coordinator: Dr Parco Ming-Fai SIU (HKU)
Abstract
Insufficient physical activity is one of the major risk factors for deaths globally. Alarmingly, physical inactivity has become an epidemic among children, with over 81% of adolescents worldwide and 94% of Hong Kong schoolchildren not meeting the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations on physical activity for health. Given the evidence from the tracking of physical activity from early childhood to adulthood, establishing an active healthy lifestyle for young children is critical due to the long-term persistent health impacts. Although school-based approaches have been suggested to play a crucial role in addressing childhood physical inactivity, there is a lack of rigorously controlled studies on school-based physical activity interventions, specifically among kindergarteners. This study will combine the WHO global recommendations on physical activity and the kindergarten curriculum with the aim of increasing physical activity and physical fitness in preschool children. Chinese children aged 5-6 years will be randomly allocated based on their kindergarten to the usual care control or intervention groups for the school-year intervention during the upper kindergarten (K3) year. The control group will maintain their usual kindergarten curriculum. The intervention group will adopt the WHO physical activity recommendation-guided intervention, which will consist of enhanced physical fitness education and a physical activity-embedded curriculum. Primary outcome measures will include physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness. Secondary outcome measures will include physical fitness and movement skills, anthropometry and body composition, sedentary behavior and screen time, psychological measures, health-related quality of life, and social and mental well-being. Outcomes will be examined at baseline, 10 months (post-intervention) and 16 months (6-month post-intervention follow-up). We will test the hypothesis that the WHO physical activity recommendation-guided intervention with enhanced physical fitness education and a physical activity-embedded curriculum applied during the upper kindergarten school year would increase physical activity and improve physical fitness among preschool children. This study will also examine the unexplored influential factors that affect whether the effects of the intervention can be sustained (or not sustained) 6 months after the cessation of the intervention, when children would have transitioned to a primary school setting. This project will provide critical evidence for the beneficial public health impact of a WHO physical activity recommendation-guided, kindergarten-based, parent-involved intervention aiming to enhance the physical fitness education and physical activity-embedded curriculum for preschool children. Our findings are expected to put the WHO guidelines into practice in kindergartens for framing an effective scalable intervention and to guide the future reform of preschool education with the goal of stopping or mitigating the current growing childhood physical inactivity and obesity epidemics and ultimately enhancing our children’s health.
Project No.: R7034-20
Project Title: E2Power: Engagement and empowerment of communities through social capital development
Project Coordinator: Prof Terry Yat Sang LUM (HKU)
Abstract
Social capital has powerful effects on societal and individual well-being. However, it is context-specific and culturally sensitive and existing conceptualization, mainly borrowed from the West, cannot be fully applied in Chinese/Asian contexts. Therefore, Hong Kong and the greater Chinese communities need to develop their own context specific conceptualization of social capital, as well as strategies to promote its development, and identify ways to measurement the level of social capital in local communities.
We will conduct a four-year community-based participatory study with three inter-related projects: (1) a Situation Analysis Study with Delphi and Theory of Change methods to develop local conceptualization of social capital and identify factors conducive to social capital in three stakeholder groups: older adults, youth, and South Asian Ethnic Minorities; (2) a Community Based Participatory Research Study using design thinking workshops to identify ways to encourage development of social capital in these three local stakeholder groups; and (3) a Proof of Concept Study to test the feasibility and acceptability of developing a social capital index for Hong Kong and other Chinese/Asian communities, and examine how community-level social capital and built environment contribute to wellbeing.
Project No.: R7036-20
Project Title: Filling the translational gap of mesenchymal stem cell-based tissue engineering strategies for cartilage regeneration therapy
Project Coordinator: Prof Barbara Pui CHAN (HKU)
Abstract
Cartilage injuries are very common but existing surgical treatments are not satisfactory. Advanced therapies such as cell and tissue engineering products offer great hope in treating cartilage injuries. Built on over a decade’s research and development, we have developed a novel autologous mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based engineered osteochondral tissue (eOCT). Pre-clinical investigations in animal models showed exciting outcomes with rapid and sustained regeneration of high quality hyaline cartilage in traumatic injuries. Under the new regulatory framework for Advanced Therapy Products (ATP), eOCTs have to be manufactured with GMP compliance in a qualified facility before testing in human. In this project, collaborating among a cross-disciplinary group of scientists, engineers and surgeons from two universities and three hospitals, and with industrial partners, we aim to (1) develop a GMP compliant manufacturing process for autologous MSC-based eOCT; and (2) conduct a first-in-human clinical study on the safety profile of the GMP-manufactured eOCT in treating patients with traumatic cartilage defects.